PI has received a United States patent for its development of an innovative means of increasing resolution in existing D/A converters, without additional hardware

PI (Physik Instrumente), a leading manufacturer of precision motion-control equipment for photonics, semiconductor and life science applications, has received a United States patent for its development of an innovative means of increasing resolution in existing D/A converters, without additional hardware. The new technology will be marketed under the trade name 'HyperBit'. For more information, see US Patent 6,950,050: 'Method and apparatus for increasing effective resolution of analogue output of digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) having predetermined digital word size, where DAC drives plant'.

Licensees are sought.

HyperBit is a fundamentally flexible technology which can benefit virtually any application where the DAC update rate exceeds the responsiveness of the rest of the system.

It works equally well in open and closed-loop situations.

In closed-loop systems it can exist upstream or downstream from the servo.

HyperBit can also reduce higher-order granularity-driven artifacts.

PI USA is seeking non-competitive licensees in many fields.

Some possibilities are listed below.

+ Test and Measurement.

+ Process Control.

+ Active Optics, Beam Stabilisation and Pointing, Galvanometers.

+ Electro-Optic Devices, AOMs.

+ Fabry-Perot Cavity Tuning and Stabilisation.

+ Liquid Crystal Elements.

+ Spatial and Spectral Modulators.

+ Piezo-driven nanopositioning devices.

+ Large-Area/High-Resolution E-Beam and Ion-Beam Deflection.

+ Spectroscopy, Microscopy, AFMs, NSOM, Nano-manipulation.

+ Lithography.

+ MEMS Actuation.

+ Electrostatic, Thermal, Electromagnetic.

+ Nano-patterning.

+ Motion Control: Microsteppers, Voice-Coils.

+ Data Storage Microactuation.